Media

The Media Is the Mess

The belated discovery that George W. Bush's campaign applied two disparate standards for counting overseas ballots in Florida -- liberal for Bush strongholds and stringent for counties carried by Al Gore -- underscores again the huge advantage that the well-funded conservative news media gives the Republicans. "By having a powerful media of its own -- from TV networks to nationwide talk radio, from news magazines to daily newspapers -- the conservative movement can give its stamp to events during the crucial few days when the public is paying attention," writes Robert Parry.

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Buy News Content Like Ad Space

Media Relations, a Minneapolis-based PR firm, tells potential clients, "The media is separated into two categories. One is content and the other is advertising. They're both for sale." In a press release sent to media watch-dog group Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting, the firm explains that one can now buy news articles for less money than advertisements. That's because unlike other PR firms, Media Relations only charges clients for stories that get picked up by media. According to the firm's website, "Normally clients spend between $3,000 and $50,000 per month with us."

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Magazines Offer Extra Services to Advertisers

Magazines are offering more to advertisers than just ad space. "Integrated marketing" increasingly is being used by large publishers to draw in corporate advertisers. The Wall Street Journal reports that AOL Time Warner's Mutual Funds magazine offers marketing services at an additional charge to those who buy ad space.

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Radio Disney: Round-The-Clock Promotion

Michael Eisner, head of the Walt Disney Company, praises Radio Disney, which currently broadcasts in 48 markets, representing 54% of the country. According to a press release, "because Radio Disney is the only 24-hour kids' radio network, it has important synergy benefits for the entire company, helping to get the word out about everything from new movies to goings-on at our theme parks to Disney record releases." In May, the first non-English Radio Disney station outside the U.S. was launched in Buenos Aires.

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New Book "Corrects" Liberal Media Bias--With Conservative Bias

A new book by conservative spinmeisters purports to correct the mainstream media's liberal spin on science news. It Ain't Necessarily So: How Media Make and Unmake the Scientific Picture of Reality, by authors David Murray, Joel Schwartz and S. Robert Lichter, argues that the mainstream media's science coverage is slanted by a liberal agenda.

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Disney Plans $250-Million Promo Push

In celebration of the 100-year anniversary of company founder Walt Disney's birth, Walt Disney World is pulling out all the advertising stops with a $250-million campaign. Disney's major corporate partners--McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Kellogg, American Express, and Hallmark Cards--will all contribute paid media to counter sagging attendance at the four Florida Disney parks. Advertising Age reports, "As with most of Disney's big marketing efforts, all its companies are synergistically involved, including the ABC Television Network, which will air a documentary on Walt Disney...."

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Stossel Strikes Back

ABC's John Stossel attempted to defend himself by describing his critics as "brainwashed." Stossel appeared yesterday on Fox News Channel's "O'Reilly Factor." Responding to criticism by the Environmental Working Group, Stossel said, "I call them the totalitarian left. They want to silence people who criticize them." See earlier postings on Spin of the Day for the complete story on Stossel's media debacle.

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CEI Uses Stossel to Attack Environmental Education

The polluter-funded Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is using the upcoming Stossel report to escalate its attack on public funding of environmental education. CEI notes that "ABC News is airing a John Stossel special this Friday, June 29, exposing some of the liberal indoctrination children receive in the classroom under the guise of environmental education."

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Media Reports on Stossel's Reporting

The Washington Post and other news media have started to pay attention to Stossel's latest. Here are some other examples of the coverage: Calif. Parents Attack ABC News Special (Reuters); Parents Complain About ABC Special (AP); Stossel Accused of "Tampering" (E!

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